2004 Alternative Fuel & Hybrid Vehicle Guide

Raising the hood on the leading, alternative powertrain technologies

Hybrid Electric Vehicles Hybrid vehicles combine an electric motor with an internal combustion or compression ignition engine powered by gasoline or diesel fuel. The hybrid's key distinct advantages are barely measurable emissions, an established fuel infrastructure, and extremely high fuel economy - up to 66 highway mpg. Some hybrids drive exclusively using electric power during slower speeds, an internal combustion engine at higher speeds, and both powerplants under certain driving conditions. Others use an extremely efficient internal combustion engine at all times with electric motor boost as needed. In both configurations, an onboard system recharges the vehicle's batteries while driving so no plug-in charging is ever needed, eliminating a critical limitation with pure battery electric vehicles.

Two manufacturers, Toyota and Honda, currently have significant numbers of gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles on the road, selling at suggested retail prices of about $20,000. Honda's Insight and Civic Hybrid models are achieving cumulative sales of some 20,000+ units annually, about the same as the Toyota Prius hybrid. Toyota's all-new 2004 Prius enjoyed record advance orders of over 10,000 prior to its mid-October 2003 debut, which has prompted this automaker to update its sales target to 35,000 units per year. While there are too many variables to accurately predict hybrid sales in the years ahead, the technology research firm ABI expects that sales of hybrids could grow to just under the 500,000 range by 2007.Hybrids like the Prius, Insight, and Civic use smaller-than-normal, highly efficient three- and four-cylinder internal combustion engines, combining with electric motors to add the levels of power required for a satisfying driving experience. As larger V-6 and V-8 hybrids come to the fore, we'll see an interesting deviation from this scenario as some hybrid options will provide higher levels of performance than their internal combustion variants.